News in Brief

Disney makes moves as Indian market heats up

In a two-pronged deal, The Walt Disney Company has taken a major step to increase its presence in India. Worth a reported US$44.5 million, the agreement includes the full acquisition of Hungama TV, the 24-hour Hindi-language kid’s channel founded in 2004, and a reported US$14-million investment in the channel’s parent company UTV Software. Prior to the sale, Disney’s Indian presence consisted of a programming block on terrestrial network Doordarshan that reaches 107 million households and satellite feeds of Disney Channel and Toon Disney/Jetix that reach approximately 30 million Indian households.